In Which Thomas Isn't Harry But Manages to Help Anyway

Summary:

Molly goes to talk to Harry because her boyfriend dumped her and she's upset. Harry's not home, but Thomas is. (Basically, Thomas is Molly's 'sassy gay friend' stereotype.)

Notes:

Definitely not the best fic I've written, not even close, but I figured I'd throw it on here just because... I can.

Work Text:

Molly Carpenter’s hand met the door timidly, the knock hardly audible, not that it would matter, Harry would be alerted to her presence somehow. Except, well, “Hello Molly.”

She angled her face up enough to meet the… man who had answered the door’s, well, nose. She didn’t particularly want to look him in the eyes. “Oh, er- Thomas. Is Harry here?”

“No, but he should be back soon.” He stood well aside, allowing her to take the phrase for what it was, a subtle invitation without allowing anything that wasn’t Molly into Harry’s apartment. She slipped past him, careful not to make physical contact, and sat down on the couch, fidgeting a bit. He closed the door and took the other side of the couch. “He went out for…” Thomas trailed off, studying his brother’s apprentice.

Molly glanced up at him, blinking back tears. “Yeah?” Her voice wavered a bit. Nothing had been going her way lately, and now to add to it, Harry was gone when she needed him.

“Hey.” Thomas’s voice cut through her thoughts. “What happened?”

“Wouldn’t wanna burden you with it.” She sniffed. “It’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing to me. Tell me about it.” He slid from the arm of the couch to the cushion, folding his legs under him and settling in.

“Zach dumped me a couple days ago and then my parents were tired of me moping around the house so I came here.” She said all in one breath. “And- And- I just wanted to talk to Harry.” She finished, pulling her knees up to her chest and burying her face in them. “He’d make things better.”

“Three, actually.” She mumbled into her knees. “I really liked him, and then he just… went and f- started dating this other girl and dumped me. Over text message.”

“He’s an ass and he’s not worth your tears.” Thomas informed her in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Come on, who dumps someone via text message because they found someone else to… ‘date’? Assholes. That’s who.”

Molly raised her head to wipe the tears off her cheeks. “But-“

“No buts, you’re still young, you’ll find someone else. And probably someone after that. Everyone’s had their fair share of romantic entanglements that ended in disaster. You get hurt, you get over it. You write a sad note in your journal and move on, you don’t mope around and cry about it for days.”

“I… suppose you’re right.” Molly sniffed again and wiped away the last of her tears, glancing over at Thomas.

Thomas nodded. “I am right. Are you hungry? I could order pizza or something if you don’t want to go home. Harry should be back soon.”

Molly gave him a small smile and nodded. Thomas smiled back and stood up, going into Harry’s room and closing the door to avoid Molly breaking his phone. Harry showed up at about the same time as the pizza delivery man, coming in the door carrying the pizza. He gave Molly, then Thomas, a questioning look. “What are you two doing and should I be worried?” He didn’t think his brother and his apprentice knew each other that well.

“Oh, nothing.” Molly grinned at him and she and Thomas exchanged a quick glance before both attempting to conceal a round of laughter.

“I feel a lot like you’re laughing at me..” Harry set the pizza down and Thomas leaned over and opened the box.

“So, anyone want some? Or am I gonna have to eat it all myself?” He grabbed a slice and retreated to watch Harry and Molly dive for slices themselves.

Next time Harry saw Michael, Michael thanked him for talking to Molly and cheering her up. Harry was, as usual, utterly confused. “I didn’t do any cheering up…”